"Wait here," he yelled, sliding down the ladder. He ran into the shed. The left forward wheel of the box-car had mounted upon one of the ties thrown before it. The tie was wedged diagonally across the track, and the flange had cut a deep groove in it. The right wheel was nearly a foot off the track. Apparently the car had struck the tie just at the moment of losing momentum. Fuller made a hasty examination, then ran back to the _Texas_. Murphy was coming forward to meet him. "They've dropped the second box-car in there," explained Fuller. "The front wheels are off the track. We can drag it back, I think. We'll have to find a coupling pin." The fireman was racing through his chest, looking for something which would serve to couple the cars together. "Will this be all right?" he asked, holding up a short crow-bar. "Yes," answered Fuller. "And bring a heavy hammer." While Murphy signaled the _Texas_ into the shed, Fuller and the fireman ran forward with the crow-bar and hammer. "Careful now," yelled Fuller, as the two box-cars came closer together. "Easy--easy!" The cars met gently. He slid the crow-bar into the hole and held it while the fireman hammered the top over. "Now run back slowly--an inch at a time," ordered Fuller. The engineer opened the throttle, and the _Texas_ crept away, taking up the slack in the couplings. The left wheel followed back along the groove its flange had cut in the tie. Fuller watched it breathlessly. There came a clash of metal as the wheel slipped down from the tie and struck the track. For a second the flange rode on the rail, then settled into position, forcing the right wheel up. Fuller yelled in triumph, kicked the tie off the track, and jumped for the ladder. The steam hissed as the _Texas_ was thrown into reverse again. They swept out of the shed, pushing the two cars. The bent rail which Andrews had left as a snag in the track would have wrecked Fuller if the _Texas_ had been traveling forward instead of backward. As it was, the cars cleared it. The snag caught on the low cow-catcher of the engine and gave the train a mighty jerk. They were past it before they knew what had happened. In fact, Fuller did not know until later, for he had not seen the snag ahead of them, and he could see nothing as he looked back. He motioned Murphy ahead. "What was that?" he asked. "Don't know. Something on the track. Thought the engine was going off for a second." "They'll probably stop at Green's for wood," said Fuller. "Keep the whistle going." Murphy hurried back over the swaying cars. An instant later the whistle was screaming out its warning to the keeper of the wood yard at Green's Station. Fuller's arms went up again, and he was on the ground removing ties. "We'll have to stop for fuel," yelled Murphy. When the _Texas_ swung around into view of Green's Station the track ahead was still clear. The _General_ was speeding northward. CHAPTER THIRTEEN FIGHTING WITH FIRE